Joys of Raising Children with Autism

In light of the government's recent announcement that 1 in 100 children will be diagnosed with autism (up from 1 in 150), here is something I was given:

A few Joys of Raising Children with Autism:
1. We get to enjoy our favorite move line quotes again and again and again.
2. Peer pressure- what's that?
3. If the defintion of humor is absure and unexpected responses-we have A LOT of good jokes!
4. I actually prefer all my measuring cups lined up end to end across the kitchen floor
5. There's untold job in finally toilet-training that 8-year old
6. Fresh perspectives on parenting, relationships, the gospel, and the history of steam engines.
7. Buzz Lightyear is actually a member of our family.
8. I have met more angels since my child with autism was born than most people meet in a lifetime.
9. I may have been compelled to learn it, but what better attributes than patience and compassion.
10. I know more about parenting than all the other parents I know combined; because they all give me their advice.
11. Living with a developmental delay is like watching child development with time-lapse photography-you can actually see the Lord's hand in it.
12. I love to end all of my sentences with "not-otherwise specified."
13. Chasing a totally unaware child the entire length of Disneyland and back burns roughly 15,000 calories-that's like 25 donuts!
14. When my child is displaying some echolalia, I just say out loud, "Mom, you are sooooo good lookin'!"
15. They say autism is complicated, but with a child who has no social awareness, "What you see is what you get"-could these children be more simplistic?
16. Children of few words rarely talk back.
17. It is the lessons we learn from teaching our "outside-of-the-box" children, that help us to be better teachers of all children
18. Could it be that my child with autism came here to lead me to the hand of God?
19. If flowers grow best when there is both sun and rain, we must be living in a lush rainforest!
20. Sometimes it's nice to be loved by someone who has never passed a judgement.
21. Are there references to autism in the Bible? Oh yes! --those who had no guile.
22. A child that doesn't learn deception until age 12 amd still isn't any good at it two years later is pretty easy to keep in line.
23. When you live with someone who interprets everything literally, "cashews" become something cows wear on their feet, and "notions" are people who have no shins.

All sooooo true!

Although very difficult at times, I feel truly honored to have been given a child with autism. Heavenly Father must give me a lot more credit than I give myself.